Archive for December, 2015

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Pre-Econoline – 1958 Thames 800 Estate

December 10, 2015

As early as the mid-1950s, Ford was feeling the need to compete with small imported vans, most notably the VW Type 2 from Germany. Before they were able to release the 1961 Falcon-based Econoline, and Chevrolet got their Corvair Greenbriar on the market, Ford brought over the Thames 400E and renamed it the Thames 800. And so began the short life of one of the many American captive imports. You can certainly see they drew heavily on the Thames for the Econoline. Let’s check out this 1958 Thames 800 Estate for sale for $2000 in Boise, ID.

1958 Thames 800 Estate left rear

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Eclipsed, Scandinavian Style – 1957 Volvo P210 Duett

December 9, 2015

If you’ve spent any amount of time browsing the internet for cars, you’ve probably run into some of those crazy Scandinavian cars that take, say, a classic early Saab 99, drop in a later turbo engine, mate it to a quattro system from an Audi 100, and tweak it to make over 700hp. Well, we North Americans might not have as many creative builds that are famous on the internet, but they do crop up every so often. For an example of US ingenuity, take a look at this 1957 Volvo P210 Duett for sale for $3500 in Spokane, WA.

1957 Volvo P210 Duett right front

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The OG 9-5 – 1970 and 1972 Saab 95s

December 8, 2015

Saab did some pretty amazing things and had some pretty creative solutions to the question of making better, more efficient cars, but one of the less-celebrated ones was their ability to fit 7 passengers – consider that it’s shorter than the equally weird VW 412 wagon (though their wheelbases are equal), and that car and its Type 3 Squareback sibling will only fit 5 passengers (though with a trunk and frunk, they will take a ton of luggage). If you want to accommodate more than 5 passengers, you’re looking at one of the American mega-wagons, a Land Rover, or, say, a London cab. But that has no trunk to speak of. For today, you have the luxury of cross-shopping two of these creative, quirky cars – first, let’s look at this 1970 Saab 95 for sale for $3500 on Anderson Island, WA.

1970 Saab 95 left front

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